Colorado State’s new coach took the national stage in New Orleans on Thursday. Whenever Jim McElwain speaks, it causes all of Alabama to stop and listen. Alabama coach Nick Saban has his assistants under gag orders akin to the North Korean military, and only the BCS championship’s annual offensive coordinator news conference forced McElwain into the public eye.

Even for one day, however, it’s a big jolt to CSU’s moribund program. McElwain, hired Dec. 13, is the guy responsible for solving LSU’s superb defense in a Superdome that will turn the BCS championship into an LSU home game. You can almost smell the jambalaya now.

You also can nearly hear them in Fort Collins yelling, “Roll Tide!”

The Rams have become irrelevent in Colorado, let alone college football. Three consecutive 3-9 seasons and home attendance slightly better than the basketball team’s will do that to you. But in the BCS championship, CSU will get more national pub than three hours in the Home Depot Cordless Drill Tip Bowl.

And, if McElwain pulls it off, devising a plan that solves the second- best defense in the country and wins a second national title in three years for Alabama, CSU’s residuals cannot be measured.

I remember three years ago in Miami when Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen held court before the BCS championship. Mississippi State had just hired him, and he was all smiles all week. He talked about jump-starting the Bulldogs’ program and launching the Gators’ spectacular Tim Tebow-led offense.

He came across as a guy I’d want to play for. Sure enough, Florida beat Oklahoma 24-14. That year Mullen had a top-25 recruiting class, and in 2010 Mississippi State went 9-4 and won the Gator Bowl.

Colorado State will take .500 and one SUV with a lively tailgate party.

For what it’s worth, McElwain won Thursday’s news conference. He was funny and self-deprecating and didn’t say one syllable LSU could put on its bulletin board.

CSU fans and players will see he’s the exact guy new athletic director Jack Graham described in the introductory news conference. He’s the kind of coach who had quarterback A.J. McCarron over for Thanksgiving dinner.

“Yeah, he put up with my cooking,” McElwain told the national press corps. “It was unbelievable. He actually smiled and said he liked it. I don’t know if he really did or not.”

Keep in mind that if Alabama beats the top-ranked, undefeated Tigers, it will have won two of the last three national titles with first-year quarterbacks. That’s something any offensive coordinator would love to put on his résumé.

Although McElwain, a people person to the core, doesn’t seem to own a highlighter.

“The great thing about working with first-year quarterbacks is I don’t have a couple of years to screw them up,” he said.

Most revealing, however, is what the Crimson Tide offense said about CSU’s new coach. I researched his background for a week last month and couldn’t find one negative tidbit, from his childhood buds in Missoula, Mont., to his former quarterbacks in the NFL.

The stream of praise has followed him to New Orleans.

“I love him,” senior receiver Marquis Maze said. “I think we all love him. Great coach. Going to be a great coach at Colorado State. And I wouldn’t want to go in this game … without him.”

Added junior guard Barrett Jones: “The biggest thing about Coach Mac is I think he’s a teacher first. He’s a great teacher of the game. And I think you can tell he really has a passion for that. And he’s extremely gifted at that, and just the way he breaks down offenses and helps us understand it.”

His challenge Monday is as great as anything he’ll face in Fort Collins. He needs McCarron to read LSU’s defense better and not throw two interceptions again, and they must score early to quiet the rabid crowd. They all must hope Alabama can kick a field goal.

Then you can count on a fond but bittersweet farewell in Tuscaloosa.

“I’ve been under him my whole career,” Jones said. “What a great coordinator, and I’m really going to miss him.”

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.